Lecture by Prof. Adam Gazzaley(University of California) was held on July 30, 2012.

Date: July 30, 2012 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Place: Lecture Room 1102 Faculty of Integrated Human Studies, Kyoto University
Contact: Prof. Shintaro Funahashi (kyoto University Kokoro Research center)
Title: Neural networks underlying top-down modulation of visual processing
Dr. Adam Gazzaley, MD., Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Neurology, Physiology and Psychiatry,
Director of Neuroscience Imaging Center, University of California at San Francisco, USA
Abstract:
Top-down modulation is a bi-directional process that underlies our ability to focus our attention on task-relevant stimuli and ignore irrelevant distractions by differentially enhancing or suppressing neural activity in sensory cortical regions. It is believed that this modulation is not an intrinsic property of visual cortices, but is achieved via functional connectivity between sensory brain regions and a distributed network of frontal and parietal regions. I will present new data from our lab that reveals differential entrainment of stimulus-selective, visual association cortical areas with regions of the “frontal-parietal attention network” or the “default network” depending on the participant’s goals. Additionally, there is sparse evidence in humans that a direct causal connection exists between prefrontal control regions and visual cortical activity modulation. Using a multi-modal approach that couples fMRI, rTMS and EEG, I will present evidence for a direct role of the inferior frontal junction (IJF) in top-down modulation of feature processing and its influence on subsequent working memory.